Abstract
AbstractWhat is human nature? And what place does it have in political thought? These questions are still hotly contested. This entry's inquiry into human nature proceeds as follows. The discussion must be limited to a few influential attempts to come to terms with human nature and its role in political thought. First, this entry considers the classical liberal idea of human nature. Second, it reviews three major challenges (Aristotle, Hobbes, and Rousseau) to the classical liberal view. It highlights each thinker's understanding of human nature, his method for revealing human nature, and the way the understanding of human nature is utilized in his political thought. The final section deals with recent attempts to unify natural and social science on the assumption that biology can replace philosophy as the means for understanding human nature.